Is it appropriate for a little girl to kill people and cuss like a sailor on the big screen?
It’s a debate which will officially begin this weekend – and likely won’t dissipate anytime soon.
The film “Kick-Ass,” based on the comic book series, casts young Chloe Moretz as a crime-fighter named Hit Girl.
A glance at the picture on the left only tells a fraction of the story. She’s a leather-clad killing machine who makes Batman look like a softie.
Moviefone’s Kara Warner chimes in about the upcoming film, which opens in theaters April 16. And her haughty pose may become commonplace in media circles – if the WWTW crystal ball is firing on all cylinders.
Warner’s piece begins on a sour note, and only gets more bitter from there:
Throughout the history of provocative kid actor performances … no matter how high the praise or raucous the audience applause, there are always a few easily-offended types making noise about protests, appropriateness, etc.
Some groups, some times, do get upset over small slights. That isn’t the case with “Kick-Ass.” It’s a legitimate issue that deserves a frank, open discussion. Warner’s opening salvo doesn’t exactly set the stage for such dialogue.
Warner defends Moretz’s role in the film by turning to the young actress herself. But she’s not an adult -she’s a kid, and I’d much rather hear her parents’ take on the issue.
The most telling quote comes late into the piece:
Moviefone asked Moretz if she’d be allowed to see this movie if she weren’t in it. “No,” Moretz says. “I’m only allowed PG-13. And only cause I just turned 13. Whole new realm of movies for me.”
Hmm. So Chloe isn’t allowed to see a movie that’s rated R, but her parents have no problem casting her in a movie in which she does just about every R-rated act you can think of — including being viewed as a sexual being in one sequence.
The film’s co-screenwriter Jane Goldman tells Moviefone she has no problem with a young girl using foul language but understands those who might recoil at the film’s violence.
Goldman only scratches at the surface of the debates to come. But let’s hope the pundits and reporters give those who are offended by the film’s sensibility a fair shake.
Both sides in this debate deserve nothing less.
Note: I’ll post my review of the film Friday morning.
Update: Here’s a bevy of sites chiming in on the controversy courtesy of Newsy.com
(Photo: Young Chloe Moretz fights crime in a particularly brutal way in “Kick-Ass.”/Lionsgate. Photo credit: Dan Smith)
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Did you see “Hounddog?” I just watched that the other night with a friend. Yeesh! Exploitative and boring!
I thought about this issue upon seeing the trailer. I’m baffled at what I end up saying sometimes, but the idea of a 12-year-old girl blowing people away with machine guns and stabbing them with knives seems, oh, just a touch inappropriate to me. I’m not judging until I see the film, but I did read the comic, and in that medium it comes off more stupid than vulgar.
I have a feeling the movie will be renamed “Fall-on-your-ass” after the first weekend. It’s a niche movie but it does not have the controversial buzz that a movie like the “Da Vinci Code” did and even if it did it does not have the right kind of shock to bring in the curious detractors. It’s one thing to watch a movie that denigrates your beliefs if only to understand those who would tear you down. It’s another thing to watch a movie that is controversial because of its crude and lascivious content. There is no insight to be gained from that.
KBiel – I can’t offer up my review until the film opens – but the screening crowd I saw it with was electric … so I suspect word of mouth could be good. That said, screening audiences can be a different breed than the avg. movie goer. Plus, they see flicks for free.
I never saw “Houndog” – and I don’t think I’ve read one positive review of it!
I have doubt that it will do well among those who know about it and their friends, but I just do not get the “oh we have to go see what the controversy is about” vibe to it that a movie like “The Da Vinci Code” did. So, while it may draw a decent crowd and may even break even, I very much doubt it will have the run that some controversial movies have because there is no benefit in seeing it for those who find it offensive.
I watched Hound Dog. It was much worse than say, Bastard out of Carolina, but not as well acted. I would think that type of movie would be more disturbing to a young girl. Being a rape victim for months on end vs. a kickass (heh) tough talker. No contest. And yes, I am speaking from personal experience.
I didn’t find the little girl trash talking to be so outrageous/upsetting. It’s what she does that’s the big shocker … will share more in my review.